US Composting Council

The US Composting Council (USCC) is a front group for dumping sewage sludge onto gardens and farms. It sponsors the ironically titled International Compost Awareness Week; the irony is that the buyer of compost is not "aware" that USCC their seal on sewage sludge-derived "compost." It describes itself as a national trade and professional organization with over 600 members including Synagro, compost manufacturers, local government, equipment suppliers and others. It promotes "compost" manufactured with sewage sludge. As a promoter of "biosolids," the sludge industry PR term for sewage sludge dumped on farms and gardens, it works closely with BioCycle magazine, Water Environment Federation, Kellogg Garden Products, and other promoters of growing food in sewage sludge.

USCC Behind "Compost Awareness Week
International Compost Awareness Week (ICAW) is a yearly PR campaign by the US Composting Councilto promote dumping sewage sludge on gardens and farms. Jeff Ziegenbein of the giant Los Angeles, CA, Inland Empire Utility Agency (IEUA) coordinates the program for the USCC. IEUA supplies the sewage sludge "compost" that is resold by the Kellogg Garden Products company.

Sludge Industry Gives an 'Award' to Alice Waters and Chez Panisse Foundation
The USCC gave celebrity chef Alice Waters and her Chez Panisse Foundation an 'award' in January, 2011. "The H. Clark Gregory Award to Promote Grassroots Efforts in Composting" was awarded to Alice Waters, Chez Panisse Foundation and their Edible Schoolyard program which promotes children growing food from their own gardens. The award is given each year to an individual who has displayed outstanding service."

Involvement in San Francisco Sludge Controversy
In April 2010, the U.S. Composting Council sent a letter of support to the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission in favor of its sewage sludge compost giveaway program. In the letter, the U.S. Composting Council says sewage sludge composts "provide many benefits while being safe for use."

Seal of Testing Assurance (STA)
One of USCC's main programs is its Seal of Testing Assurance (STA) for compost products. The STA program, developed in 2000, requires regular testing of compost products by "certified" labs. The testing is relatively minimal and the standards are designed to allow for certification of products containing sewage sludge. For more information, see the article on the Seal of Testing Assurance.

History
According to its website:
 * "Established in 1990, the US Composting Council (USCC) is the only national organization in the United States dedicated to the development, expansion and promotion of the composting industry. The USCC achieves this mission by encouraging, supporting and performing compost related research, promoting best management practices, establishing standards, educating professionals and the public about the benefits of composting and compost utilization, enhancing compost product quality, and developing training materials for composters and markets for compost products. USCC members include compost producers, marketers, equipment manufacturers, product suppliers, academic institutions, public agencies, nonprofit groups and consulting/engineering firms.


 * "The USCC is a non-profit 501(c) (6) organization that also directs the Composting Council Research and Education Foundation (CCREF), a 501(c) (3) charitable foundation, which administers public and private research and education activities."

Board and Staff
The leadership of the U.S. Composting Council is as follows:


 * Executive Director: Stuart Buckner

Officers:
 * President: Frank Franciosi, Novozymes North America
 * Vice President: Andrew Kessler, Turning Earth
 * Secretary: Lorrie Loder, Synagro
 * Treasurer: Craig Coker, Coker Composting & Consulting
 * Past President: Wayne King, ERTH Products

Board of Directors:
 * Ron Alexander, R. Alexander Associates, Inc.
 * Sharon Barnes, Barnes Nursery
 * Matt Cotton, Integrated Waste Management Consulting
 * Debra Darby, Mirel Bioplastics by Telles (Metabolix, Inc.)
 * Carrie Gregory, Pierce County Recycling
 * Tom Kelley, Harvest Power
 * Mike Manna, Organic Recycling Solutions
 * Scott Subler, Environmental Credit Corp
 * Chuck Wilson, A-1 Organics
 * Jeff Ziegenbein, Inland Empire Utilities Agency
 * Director Emeritus: Eliot Epstein, Epstein Environmental Consultants, LLC

Members
"USCC members include compost producers, marketers, generators of organic residues, policy makers, regulators, equipment manufacturers, product suppliers, academic institutions, public agencies, nonprofit groups and consulting/engineering firms."

Members include:

Compost Producers
 * 2nd Season Recycling
 * A1 Organics
 * ACE Compost LLC
 * Agresource, Inc.
 * Agromin
 * Aguinaga Green, Inc.
 * Alpine Materials
 * American Composting, Inc.
 * American Soil Amendment Products
 * Amerigrow Recycling
 * Anderson's Erosion Control, Inc.
 * Aqua-Zyme Services, Inc.
 * Arakelian Enterprises DBA
 * Arborganic Acres, LP
 * Arrow Bio
 * Athens Clarke County
 * Athens Services
 * Back to Nature, Inc.
 * Bailey Compost
 * Barnes Nursery, Inc.
 * Barr-Tech, LLC
 * Bedrock Grinding, LLC
 * BFC Composting, Co.
 * BFI of Northern California
 * Big Bird Tree Service
 * Bio-Grid, LLC
 * Birome Gin Co., Inc.
 * Black Gold Compost Company
 * Black Oak Organics
 * Blessings Compost Facility
 * Blue Hen Organics LLC
 * Borough of Mechanicsburg
 * Boston Bark Corp.
 * Brazos Valley Recycling
 * Brown Packing Co., Inc.
 * Burrtec Waste Industries, Inc.
 * California Bio-Mass, Inc.
 * Carroll Recycling
 * Catskill Mt. Organics
 * CCL Organics, LLC
 * Cecil County Central Landfill
 * Cedar Grove Composting, Inc.
 * Cedar Rapids/Linn County Solid Waste Agency
 * Central Davis Sewer District
 * Central Texas Recycling Industrial
 * Chamness Technology, Inc.
 * Christiansen Farms
 * City of Abilene Solid Waste Services
 * City of Ann Arbor, MI
 * City of Bakersfield, CA
 * City of Brownsville, TX
 * City of Bryan Compost Facility, TX
 * City of Cheyenne-Sanitation Dept., WY
 * City of Denton, TX
 * City of Goldsboro, NC
 * City of Greensboro, NC
 * City of Hot Springs Utilities, AR
 * City of Hutchison/Creekside Soils, MN
 * City of Laredo - Solid Waste Department, TX
 * City of Los Angeles Solid Resources, CA
 * City of McAllen - Recycling Center, TX
 * City of Modesto, CA
 * City of Paducah, KY
 * City of Plano, TX
 * City of Port Angeles, WA
 * City of Portland, Bureau of Transportation, OR
 * City of Rapid City, SD
 * City of San Jose, CA
 * City of Santa Rosa
 * City of Springfield Missouri
 * City of St. Peters, MO
 * City of Turlock, CA
 * City of West Wendover, NV
 * Clackamas Compost Products
 * Cleveland Metroparks Zoo
 * CLK Systems, Inc.
 * CMI Organics
 * Cold Creek Compost Inc.
 * Colorado Natural Compost
 * Compost Joe's
 * Compost Plant - Ponderosa Dairy
 * Compost Supply, Inc. & Compost Products
 * Converted Organics, Inc.
 * County Conservation Co.
 * Cowsmo Compost
 * Craven Ag Services
 * Creech Services, Inc.
 * Davenport Compost Facility
 * Dean Brooks Farm Compost Facility
 * Deschutes Recycling
 * Diamond Tail Ranch Company
 * Diestel Turkey Ranch
 * Dirt Hugger, LLC
 * DK Organics, LLC
 * Dr. Gobbler Ltd.
 * Dubuque Metropolitan Area Solid Waste Agency, IA
 * Duffy Layton Contracting, Inc.
 * E & J Gallo Winery
 * Earth Farms, LLC
 * Earthworms Soil Amendments
 * EcoUrban, LLC
 * Eden Organics
 * EKO Compost
 * EM-Cubed
 * EMU Composting Facility
 * Engel & Gray, Inc.
 * Environmental Credit Corp.
 * EnviroTech BioSolutions
 * ERTH Products, LLC
 * Evergreen Distributers Inc. DBA Evergreen Nursery
 * Evergreen Nursery & Garden Center
 * Florida Potting Soils, Inc.
 * Foothill Soils, Inc.
 * Forest Wood Fiber Products
 * Fox Brand Inc.
 * Full Circle Compost
 * Full Moon
 * Garden-Ville, LLC
 * Geosource Inc.
 * Google
 * Great Scott Tree Service
 * Green Choice Organics
 * Green Cow Compost, LLC
 * Green Earth Technology
 * Green N2 Green, LLC
 * Green Waste Recycling, LLC
 * Greenway Environmental Services
 * Grind-All, LLC
 * Groundscapes Express
 * Grow Compost of Vermont
 * Hansen's Environmental Wood Resources
 * Harvest Power, Inc.
 * Hawaiian Earth Products
 * Heart & Soul Organics, LLC
 * High Desert Organix
 * ]HSU's Ginseng Enterprises, Inc.
 * Humalfa, LLC
 * Hybrid Packaging Ltd.
 * Inland Empire Regional Composting Authority
 * Inland Empire Utilities Agency
 * Intervale Compost Products
 * J. A. Rutter Co.
 * Jeffries Group (Australia)
 * JK Enterprise Landscape Supply, LLC
 * Jones Aggregates, Inc.
 * Justin Farms, Inc.
 * Kellogg Garden Products Supply, Inc.

Contact Information

 * U.S. Composting Council
 * 1 Comac Loop, Suite 1481
 * Ronkonkoma, NY 11779
 * Phone: (631) 737-4931
 * Fax: (631) 737-4939
 * Email: [mailto:uscc@compostingcouncil.org uscc@compostingcouncil.org]
 * Web: http://www.compostingcouncil.org

Related SourceWatch articles

 * Biosolids
 * Sewage sludge
 * Food Rights Network
 * Water Environment Federation